Iris
by ritoru-kuma
Summary: Full summary inside Sakura has spent her life in hiding from the winter courts.  At her father's insistence she was to grow up in the mortal world where she would be safe from the squabbling of the two courts.  In two months' time, on her 21st birthday..
1. Chapter One: The Call

Summary: - Sakura has spent her life in hiding from the winter courts. At her father's insistence she was to grow up in the mortal world where she would be safe from the squabbling of the two courts. In two months' time, on her 21st birthday, she will inherit the throne in the summer court and rule the summer fey. But fate has other plans and Syaoran Li appears in her life, seeming to be nothing more than a mortal. But appearances can be deceiving and they both find themselves walking down a dangerous path.

Disclaimer : - I don't own CCS, all the characters belong to CLAMP. I just like playing with them and making their lives a little more chaotic!

AN: For anyone thinking that they have already read the beginning of this story – you may well have. It was previous published under my other pen-name, demi kaijuu, but I have had a drastic re-think to this fic so have started it again (and published under a different name – but that's a different story). The inspiration for this does come from Julie Kagawas 'The Iron Fey' series – but in no way is it a rewrite of her stories, it is just the inspiration behind it.

The title of this fic is taken from the song 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls and each chapter is named after a song. The song in this chapter is 'The Call' by Regina Spektor

**Iris**

**Chapter one – The Call**

_Just because everything's changing_

_Doesn't mean it's never been this way before_

**Sakura**

Today is the 1st of February, which means it is only 2 months till my 21st birthday. For most girls turning 21 is a reason to go out and get legally drunk for the first time and have a big celebration. But to me it means a whole lot more than waking up the next day with a hangover. Because my 21st birthday means I will finally be able to return home and take my throne in the Seelie court, the place that the summer fey call 'home'. It's been nearly 11 years since I last saw home, and it is the only thing that I've thought about for the last 11 years.

I suppose that I had better explain things properly from the beginning rather than jump in from age 20 onwards.

My name is Sakura Kinomoto, and I am the princess of the Summer Court. My father, Fujitaka is the current ruler of the summer fay, and I am the heir the court. I have an older brother, but tradition dictates that the crown will always pass to a female heir. My brother, Touya, lives between the mortal realm and the summer court – mainly so he can 'keep an eye on me'. Sometimes I think he would make a better ruler than I would. He's far more level headed than I am – sometimes my temper gets the better of me and I fly off the handle. I inherited my mothers' temper, though she died when I was 5 so I remember very little about her. The thing I remember about her the most is her smell – she always smelled like sunshine and thunder storms.

I came to the moral realm when I was 10 for two reasons. The first was to 'gain a varied education' and the second was to keep me away from the Unseelie Court, more commonly known as the Winter Court. The two courts manage to maintain a civil relationship – well at least for the moment. But in all honesty we've been arguing and fighting since the courts were formed. It was deemed necessary to keep me away from both courts when I was still young and impressionable, as my father wanted me to rule without prejudice, and feared that if I saw the constant squabbling between the two courts that I would grow up without an impartial view. It's kind of long winded, but I guess I understand why he did it.

Thankfully I didn't have to come here on my own – my cousin, and best friend, Tomoyo came with me. She is my closest friend and confidante, and will also be one of the ladies of my court when I assume my rule – so at least I'll have someone I know I can trust. The only problem is she seems to have taken on the role of being my seamstress as well, so now I have a wardrobe full to bursting of beautiful clothes. I refuse to mention my coronation to her because she gets a starry look in her eyes and starts babbling about lace and ribbons.

My life is fairly hectic; I attend a normal college to further my education and learn about the ways and customs of mortal. At the weekends I am schooled by my brothers' best friend, and advisor, Yue. He teaches me the customs and politics of the fay in preparation to my return home. For the longest time I had a huge crush on him, but that changed as I grew up and now he's more like a big brother to me; and far less annoying than my real brother.

So that's pretty much my life as it is now, with me counting down the days to my return home and trying to cram in everything before I leave. I should currently be cramming for my finals, but for some reason I felt the need to start a journal, maybe it's just the opportunity to get everything out of my head and onto paper. But life is good, and in two months I will be home where I belong.

* * *

><p><em>Pick a star on the dark horizon<em>

_And follow the light_

Sakura closed her new journal and stretched, it was getting late and the evening was rapidly turning into night. She gazed out the window, trying to see the stars behind the thick clouds. Disappointed at seeing nothing she cast her mind back to when she was a child staring at the stars from her bedroom - they looked so much clearer in the summer court. A bubble of excitement burst in her stomach and she smiled at the thought of returning home. It had been too long since she danced in the summer court with her kin. Sakura wanted to be home where the summer nights seemed never ending and the dances spanned for days.

"Hey Sakura," Tomoyo said, popping her head through the door. "You fancy going out for some ice cream. If I try to cram any more information into my head I'm risking what I already know leaking out of my ears."

Sakura grinned and started to put her books away. Peering out her window she clocked the dark ominous clouds hanging over head and scowled. "I can't wait to go home – I hate the cold," she muttered to herself as she grabbed her hat, gloves and a thick jacket.

"At least you can wear hat!" Tomoyo quipped. "I look like an elf or something. Hats just don't suit me!"

Sakura shook her head in disagreement. "Tomoyo, you couldn't look like an elf if you tried," she stated as she pulled her boots on. Tomoyo stuck her tongue out and opened the door laughing as Sakura winced at the blast of cold air that rushed past her. Sakura gritted her teeth and wound her scarf tighter, scowling at the offending cold. She linked arms with Tomoyo and they walked down towards the ice cream shop, blissfully unaware of the two shadows following them at a distance.

* * *

><p><em>You'll come back when it's over<em>

_No need to say goodbye_

Sakura slid into the plush leather booth at the ice-cream parlour eyeing the huge mug of hot chocolate in front of her. Ok so it wasn't strictly ice-cream, but it was too cold and hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows seemed like a much better plan than tooth achingly cold ice cream. Tomoyo laughed as she dug into her hot fudge sundae. It struck Tomoyo that she had acclimatised to the cold winters much better than Sakura had, but then again that was to be expected. She was only a lady of the court; and although she wasn't particularly keen on the cold winters it had always affected her a lot less than it did Sakura. But being the summer princess she was more attuned to changes in temperature, and the cold winter senses seemed to dull her senses.

The bell above the door rang, breaking Tomoyo from her thoughts. She glanced up, hoping to see Chiharu or Rika, knowing that they would drop cramming for finals in preference of ice cream. Instead it was two guys she didn't recognise. They were both good looking she noted, but that could be said for many mortals. She looked at one of them for a moment more before returning to her sundae. It was best to keep mortals and faeries apart, one too many a night in either court was enough to addle any mortals' brain. She smiled at them as they walked past the booth, her eyes crinkling as she noticed how good looking the tall boy with dark hair was. They moved out of sight and her conversation with Sakura resumed, the boy with the dark hair pushed from her mind.

* * *

><p><em>Now we're back to the beginning<em>

_It's just a feeling that no one knows yet_

_And just because they can't feel it too _

_Doesn't mean that you have to forget_

Sakura rolled over and looked at her clock. Her eyes widened as she noted the time and she shot out of bed at lightning speed. She was already running 20 minutes late and she hadn't even brushed her teeth. She dragged a brush though her hair, making a face at her waist length auburn curls. She gave up trying to tame her unruly locks and settled for scrapping it back into a messy bun. . She quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed her book bag and coat on the way out. She skidded to a halt as she opened the front door, her eyes opening wide in shock.

It was snowing.

And not just a little bit of snow, it was a full blown white out. Grumbling incoherently she swapped her trainers for boots and grabbed her hat. Grimacing at the cold she stepped into the snow and tramped through the snow, trying not to land herself on her ass.

It took longer than usual to get to college, and by the time Sakura made it she looked more like a walking snowman than a princess, but she was grateful to get inside from the cold. Shaking the snow from her the best she could she grabbed the books she needed from her locker and headed towards geography.

She rushed into the classroom and plonked her books down next to Tomoyo just as the final bell went. She collapsed into the chair, her head resting on her folded arms.

"Thanks for waking me," she hissed at Tomoyo.

"Hey I tried waking you like 5 times, but you were out of it." Tomoyo grinned. "Then I saw it was snowing and thought better of trying to wake you – figured you would just bite my head off even if you were on time."

A sudden hush spread through the class, drawing both girls attention to the front of the class were there stood two boys. Both boys looked very uncomfortable at the attention they were drawing and shuffled back and forth on the spot.

"Ok class we have two mid-term transfers. The first is Syaoran Li," the teacher said gesturing to the boy with chocolate brown hair, "and the second is Hiiragizawa Eriol," he said pointing at the boy with dark, almost blue hair. "Please would you introduce yourselves to your class mates."

"I'm Syaoran Li. I've been living in Hong Kong for the last 4 years, but have recently moved to Japan to finish my studies," Syaoran stated bluntly looking very uncomfortable at the attention he was attracting.

"Hello, I'm Eriol. I've lived in both England and China for most of my life, and I've moved here with my cousin Syaoran to finish my studies." Eriol smiled at everyone, breaking the icy tension that Syaorans icy introduction had caused.

"Ok, Li if you could sit behind Sakura in the back corner," the teacher said, pointing to Sakura. "And Hiiragizawa is you sit next to Tomoyo who is next to Sakura. Ok class if you can all open your books at page 223, today we will be studying social geography and covering why people choose to live in certain areas."

The class was full of whispers, the girls were openly drooling at the two new and very handsome boys, and the boys were looking at then with mild distain and jealousy. Sakura for the most part ignored it, and busied herself in getting her books together and getting to the right page. She glanced up as Syaoran walked past as was suddenly hit by a cold shudder as their eyes met. Dark amber tinged with gold clashed with bright emerald.

He sat down behind Sakura, his gaze burning the back of her head. She wanted to turn and run, but couldn't place why she wanted to do it. He unnerved her and he didn't know why and she knew uncertainty normally meant trouble. She shook her mental doubts away and plastered a bright smile and turned round to introduce herself.

"Hi I'm Sakura Kinomoto," she said brightly offering her hand.

"Syaoran looked at her, a small smile creeping across his face. He took her hand and shook it. Sakura managed not to visibly shiver, but his hand was so cold. "I'm Syaoran Li. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said in flawless Japanese.

Sakura smiled uneasily at him and turned around as the teacher started talking about social geography. There was something about Syaoran Li but she couldn't put her figure on it.

It was his eyes, she knew that she'd seen them somewhere before.

* * *

><p><em>Let your memories grow stronger and stronger<em>

_Till they're before your eyes_

_You'll come back when they call you _

_No need to say goodbye._

* * *

><p>AN: That's the end of chapter one – because it's an edited version of the original one that I wrote. So you'll all be glad to hear that chapter two is already being written<p>

Please read and review

rk

-x-


	2. Chapter Two: Strange

Summary: - Sakura has spent her life in hiding from the winter courts. At her father's insistence she was to grow up in the mortal world where she would be safe from the squabbling of the two courts. In two months' time, on her 21st birthday, she will inherit the throne in the summer court and rule the summer fey. But fate has other plans and Syaoran Li appears in her life, seeming to be nothing more than a mortal. But appearances can be deceiving and they both find themselves walking down a dangerous path.

Disclaimer : - I don't own CCS, all the characters belong to CLAMP. I just like playing with them and making their lives a little more chaotic!

The title of this fic is taken from the song 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls and each chapter is named after a song. This chapters song is 'Strange' by Tokio Hotel featuring Kerli

**Iris**

**Chapter two – Strange**

_A freak of nature  
>Stuck in reality<br>I don't fit the picture  
>I'm not what you want me to be<br>Sorry _

When Sakura looked out the library window at lunch time it was still snowing. Frowning in disapproval she muttered a few choice words under her breath and leaned against a radiator, trying to draw in some of its heat. Tomoyo was sat next to her, absentmindedly flipping through a text book.

"I really hate snow." Sakura whispered, so not to disturb the other students. "I mean, its bloody February – it's not like its midwinter anymore! "

Tomoyo nodded, "but sometimes it snows in the middle of summer back home you know!"

"That's only when she's mad," Sakura retorted. "Normally at my dad. Do you think there will ever be peace between the two of us? It just seems like we've been fighting over nothing for a long time."

"Both parties involved are fickle." Tomoyo stated looking up from her book. "We're all feisty and short tempered – it's part of our nature. I doubt any one remembers why we're even at disagreement or who started it. But we're both too proud to back down or apologise to the other party."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "stupid pride getting between everything."

"You know you can change things in a couple of months – maybe try and make amends or reach an agreement between the two courts. In a couple of months you'll be queen and you'll have the opportunity to make changes." Tomoyo reasoned. "And it's not been so bad the last 5 years, there have been the odd small skirmishes, but nothing like it used to be. At least we can be grateful for that."

Sakura nodded and started to gather her stuff together for European History. It was one of the few classes her and Tomoyo didn't have together. She gave Tomoyo a hug as she grabbed her coat and headed off. She stepped outside to walk across the court yard, shivering at the cold that penetrated through her coat. She looked up at the sky, seeing nothing but the fat white flakes of snow as they coated her lashes. Shaking herself out of her thoughts she quickly made her way through the courtyard and pulled open the doors to the history department, a wall of warm air hitting her and melting the icy feeling that had settled in her bones.

* * *

><p><em>Under the radar<br>Out of the system  
>Caught in the spotlight<br>That's my existence  
>You want me to change<em>

Settling down at her desk she pulled her books out and rested her hear on her arms. The cold weather was taking its toll on her today, she felt tired and on edge. Breathing deeply tried to collect her wits, but the warm muggy heat in the classroom did little to help. Closing her eyes for a second she pictured home, the clean fresh air and the never ending blue skies. She sat up with a start as someone bumped into the back of her chair and the room tilted for a moment. She blinked, trying to refocus and looked up at the offending person that had bumped into her chair and was hit by a cold chill as she looked into the same amber eyes that had been at the back of her mind all morning.

"Sorry." Syaoran said. He stopped and looked at her, noticing her uneasy stance and flushed cheeks. "Are you ok?"

Sakura nodded meekly. This was honestly the last thing she needed when feeling like she did now – the new boy who made her feel uncomfortable, and whose eyes reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who. Syaoran hovered for a moment more and then sat down behind her and Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

Syaoran looked at her from behind raising an eyebrow at her strange behaviour. She seemed so small and frail, but behind those emerald eyes there was a fierceness he hadn't seen in a long time. He shook his head and concentrated on the task ahead of him, first he had to get through European history, and then later on probably kill his cousin for dragging him to Japan.

Eriol had been adamant that finishing their education in japan would be a good idea, that they could get away for a while and learn in a different culture before he had to take on the responsibilities of his family. He may have been the youngest of the 5 siblings, but he was the only boy. Apparently his parents had just kept going till they eventually had a male heir, so as a result he had 4 older sisters who made his life at home hell and spent their entire lives trying to set him up with their friends.

That was the main benefit of being in Japan – at least his sisters weren't here, and that was pretty much how Eriol had swung his decision. There was nothing quite as tempting as your cousin and best friend offering you a few months of piece and quite away from your sisters, never mind getting away from his over-bearing mother. He rolled her eyes and pushed that thought firmly out of his head and tried to concentrate on European history.

His mind started to wander again, this time focusing on the girl in front of him, now this was an unexpected bonus – he hadn't actually been looking for her, but somehow had stumbled across her hiding place. This would please his mother endlessly; she had been looking for the princess for quite some time, and had disagreed with Fujitaka for sending the girl away from the courts, her stance on it, as she had demonstrated with Syaoran, was that the future ruler needed to stay in the courts to learn how to rule.

He studied her from behind, she had silky auburn hair, and although it was tied up he imagined it being long and wavy. He'd seen her eyes, bright sparkling emerald green, though in winter they looked duller than he had imagined. She was petit but slim and fair with flawless skin. She would be fun to play with, and he imagined that the betrayal would be exquisite, but getting her to trust him would be the hard part. He knew earlier when they had shook hands she had felt the extreme cold that clung to him like an invisible shield. His biggest fear was that she would recognise him, although they had never met he looked too much like his father – and his father she had met, although it was many years ago now.

The bell rang signalling the end of class. Syaoran slid his books into his bag, amazed that he had spent the entire class not focusing on what the teacher had said. It didn't matter; he would catch up with it later on. Standing up he walked into Sakura, jolting her from wherever her mind had been. He put his arm out to steady her so she didn't fall and she visibly recoiled from the cold he emitted.

"Sorry," he apologised. "It seems I just keep knocking into you today." He tried to ease her fears with a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Sakura looked at him closer, there was something familiar about those eyes, and there was something about him that made her edgy. She steadied herself against the desk, moving away from Syaoran and the coldness that seemed to follow him around. "Thanks," she muttered quietly gathering up her things and getting out of the room as quickly as she could. She needed to get away from him, he was making her feel worse and the cold wasn't helping either. Everything seemed dull and fuzzy and she couldn't pin point whether it was Syaoran or the weather that was causing it.

She leaned against the wall outside the class room trying to catch her thoughts and clear her head. She hadn't been affected by the cold like this since she first moved to the mortal realm – and that was over 10 years ago. There had to be something else making her feel this way. She filed it away to ask Yue about when she next saw him. All she had to do first was make it through the rest of the day and then get home through the snow.

* * *

><p><em>But all I feel is…<br>Strange, strange  
>In your perfect world<br>So strange, strange  
>I feel so absurd in this life<br>Don't come closer  
>In my arms,<br>Forever you'll be strange, strange_

Sakura managed to make it through the next class without bumping into Syaoran again, something she was strangely relieved about. By lunch time the snow hadn't stopped and the college had decided that they were going to close for the remainder of the day. Sakura tried to find Tomoyo, but with the mass exodus from class it proved impossible and she figured she would just meet up with her back at the flat.

Sakura grabbed her stuff and made her way outside, bundling herself up against the cold. She gritted her teeth and started to make her way home, trudging through the snow. By the time she got home her feet were frozen, her teeth were chattering and she was using every bad word she could think of to describe her feelings towards the cold. The flat was empty when she got back, but thankfully it was warm. Stripping her wet clothing from her, she climbed into a hot shower, letting the hot water defrost her limbs. Resting her forehead ahead the cool tiles she breathed in the steamy air and let herself relax.

As Sakura climbed out the shower she heard the front door bang. "Tomoyo is that you?" she shouted from the bathroom.

"Yea, it's only me, you going to be long? I'm freezing!"

"I'll be right out." Sakura shouted back through the door as she wrapped her hair in a towel. She pulled on her sweats and a hoodie and opened the door to let Tomoyo in.

Tomoyo looked how Sakura had felt about 40 minutes earlier, frozen. He pale cheeks were flushed from the cold air and her hair still had the odd flake of snow, though they were quickly melting in the warmth of the flat.

"Hot chocolate?" Sakura questioned as she brushed past.

Tomoyo nodded and shut the bathroom door.

Sakura busied herself in the kitchen, smiling as she listened to Tomoyo singing in the shower. Taking the hot chocolate through the living the room she settled down on the sofa, covering herself in a thick blanket she let the weariness overcome her and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>You try to lift me<br>I don't get better  
>What's making you happy<br>Is making me sadder  
>In your golden cage<em>

The snow swirled around Syaoran as he struggled to contain his frustration. She was much stronger than he had given her credit for. But still the snow should have had more of an effect on her than it was. The snow danced around him as he scowled, trying to keep his temper. He was a fool to think that this might have been so easy and if his mother found out then she would laugh at his inability to control one little girl.

"She's not just any little girl you know" Eriol said softly.

"You need to stop peeking into people's thoughts," Syaoran retorted. "But I know you're right. I'd just imagined that she would but much weaker than she is."

"She's close to her coming of age; it makes sense that she's stronger. You know we could do the sensible thing and just leave it well alone." Eriol stated, forever the voice of reason.

Syaoran snorted. "You can't be serious? Can you imagine what my mother would say? In fact don't imagine it – I'll tell you, she would lose her temper, shout at me and tell me that I was useless son and then turn me into an ice sculpture for the next 50 years or until she forgets why she's angry at me. Leaving it alone is no longer an option!"

"I know," Eriol nodded. "But I had to say something."

"You and your compassionate nature," Syaoran smiled raising an eyebrow. "You know that compassion won't get you far in our world so why do you cling to it?"

"I'm not going to get into an argument about my need to change my morals." Eriol sighed. "I know I am different compared to other of our kin but I won't compromise what I think is right and we both know that."

Syaoran nodded, letting the argument drop. He watched the snow as it settled from its flurrying and breathed in the cold air, letting it sooth his uneasy mind.

"No-one said this would be easy Syaoran." Eriol stated. "You're trying to end a quarrel that no one remembers starting. You'll dress it up and say you're doing it for the good of your court but deep down you know that you're doing it to prove yourself to your mother. "

"I think I told you to stay out of my thoughts," Syaoran snapped.

"Well then stop lying to yourself about why you're doing this and your thoughts will stop shouting at me." Eriol retorted before stalking away.

"Syaoran took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew Eriol was right, he always was. But Eriol being right didn't change what he needed to do.

* * *

><p><em>Strange, strange<br>In your perfect world strange  
>Strange<br>Strange, strange  
>In your perfect world<br>So strange, strange  
>I feel so absurd in this life<br>Don't come closer  
>You'll die slowly<br>In my arms,  
>Forever you'll be strange, strange<br>Like me…_

* * *

><p>AN: And there ends chapter 2 – sorry it's taken so long to get up – life got in the way of writing (again) but on the bright side I've only got a dew more weeks in my old job and when I move to my new job I'll have more time to write again.<p>

Please R+R

RK

-x-


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